LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump says that a soft Brexit of the type set out by Prime Minister Theresa May last week would “probably kill” chances of a trade deal between Britain and the United States, the Sun newspaper reported late on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are met by British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip at Blenheim Palace, where they are attending a dinner with other specially invited guests and business leaders, near Oxford, Britain, July 12, 2018. Geoff Pugh/Pool via REUTERS

“If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal,” the Sun newspaper quoted Trump as saying in extracts from an interview.

Trump also said May had ignored his advice on how to leave the European Union. “I would have done it much differently,” he was quoted as saying. “I actually told Theresa May how to do it, but she didnt listen to me.”